The Gazelle Unleashes

[Superbone]

http://gothicginobili.com/?p=5142

http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2012/11/19/3666154/marcin-gortat-phoenix-suns-polish-media

Coach Alvin Gentry told me that the main post option was Luis Scola. You, on the other hand, are number one on defense.

MG: Unfortunately... I've been doing the dirty work all my life, and now I have to come back to that. I will fight for what's mine. I'll try to prove to the coach that I can play an important role in the offence. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm even an option for Gentry. He doesn't even take me into consideration. The situation is critical. We're playing the same thing we've been playing last year, but the truth is we have a completely different set of players. I don't think it really works. I can't get frustrated now though, I have to stay positive.

The Suns have a lot of players that create for themselves.

MG: We have plenty of players who like to create for themselves, but it doesn't always work. We don't share the ball as much as we have in previous seasons. The ball doesn't move around the perimeter – it usually stops after one or two passes. You can't play like this, let alone win. Basketball is a team sport. Nobody ever won a game alone.

 

[elindholm]

High comedy.

 

[Covert Rain]

He is a legit player playing on a team going nowhere. This really isn't surprising. Making Scola the go to guy? Wow...how far this team has fallen.

 

[jagu]

Loving it. It's so true. They are running the same plays as last year and that was a huge mistake.

 

[Phrazbit]

Well, I think the odds of the Suns trading him at some point this year just grew.

I dont really get what he is saying... we are running the same system as we were last year but we have players going one on one all the time? Last season we were not a one on one team on offense.

I like what we've gotten from Gortat overall this year, but if he wants a bigger offensive role then he needs to stop being so soft around the rim with his flat footed layups and stuffed shots.

 

[Chaplin]

Well, I think the odds of the Suns trading him at some point this year just grew.

I dont really get what he is saying... we are running the same system as we were last year but we have players going one on one all the time? Last season we were not a one on one team on offense.

I like what we've gotten from Gortat overall this year, but if he wants a bigger offensive role then he needs to stop being so soft around the rim with his flat footed layups and stuffed shots.

Seriously? This is perfect ammunition for your anti-Beasley rhetoric and you're passing it up? He is easily the black hole of the team--horrible percentage and the leader in shots attempted. I don't see any problem with what Gortat said.

The most fixable problem with this team right now is Alvin Gentry. Nice guy, but being a "player's coach" can only get you so far. Seems to me that he's more of a coddler for fragile egos than someone that can really get the maximum effort out of certain kinds of players. It's no surprise he was great with Nash and Grant Hill, but it's also no surprise that he's awful with Michael Beasley and to a lesser extent, Wes Johnson.

 

[SirStefan32]

What a tool.

 

[Griffin]

The Suns have a lot of players that create for themselves.

MG: We have plenty of players who like to create for themselves, but it doesn't always work.

I think he is absolutely right about that. There are players on this team who still have delusions of being able to play like superstars, but clearly they are not in the same league. Seems like one of the biggest obstacles that many NBA players face is knowing their own limitations.

 

[95pro]

i agree with him. sick of seeing brown and beasley going full court with the ball and turning it into nothing positive.

i do also wish we could swing the ball some more, at the same time when do swing the ball we aren't able to knock down shots. but maybe more sharing would help players make shots more consistently.

 

[Errntknght]

Marcin shouldn't be shooting his mouth off right now - he's playing very weak against the better teams. Other times I was okay with the things he's said but he needs to get his act together against tougher opponents before he ******* about the offense this year.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

but it's also no surprise that he's awful with Michael Beasley and to a lesser extent, Wes Johnson.

Beasley and Johnson are more than capable of being awful irrespective of a coach.

 

[elindholm]

So it's Gentry's fault that Gortat is shooting 13-37 (35%) over his last five games? Give me a break.

 

[Phrazbit]

Seriously? This is perfect ammunition for your anti-Beasley rhetoric and you're passing it up? He is easily the black hole of the team--horrible percentage and the leader in shots attempted. I don't see any problem with what Gortat said.

The most fixable problem with this team right now is Alvin Gentry. Nice guy, but being a "player's coach" can only get you so far. Seems to me that he's more of a coddler for fragile egos than someone that can really get the maximum effort out of certain kinds of players. It's no surprise he was great with Nash and Grant Hill, but it's also no surprise that he's awful with Michael Beasley and to a lesser extent, Wes Johnson.

Truthful conversation about Beasley's talents is automatically "anti-Beasley", dude is awful.

But what I dont get is that Gortat's statements clash with each other. He says we are running the same ball movement system as last year, then complains about the lack of ball movement? Did something get lost in the translation and he is trying to say that the players are not running the system? I agree, guys are going one on one and it makes for ugly, disjointed, inconsistent offense... but this is the roster they built! Anyone who watched these guys during their careers should have been able to see that we dont have a true facilitator and the guys we are leaning on to score mostly operate out of isolation.

I dont think Gentry is a part of the problem. We have a bad roster, only by some creative use of the bench have the Suns been remotely competitive this year.

 

[BC867]

" 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all."

At least I got to enjoy the Suns bookend real Centers, each for a little while. Neal Walk at the beginning and Marcin Gortat at the end.

In between were a 212 lb. Alvan Adams (a stringbean who didn't play Guard because he was 6'9"), James Edwards (who camped out 20' from the basket), Rich Kelly (who wasn't given a chance despite being, minute for minute, the best rebounder on the team), Shaq (who had reached the fossil stage) and a series of wanna-be's (who, on other teams, would hardly get off the bench. And, of course Frye and Lopez who hardly fulfilled the starting Center position.

The Polish Hammmer has just invited himself out the door. Thanks, Marcin, for the brief memories.

 

[Mainstreet]

I dont think Gentry is a part of the problem. We have a bad roster, only by some creative use of the bench have the Suns been remotely competitive this year.

I agree, however, the thing about Gentry, no matter how well he coaches, the players will start pointing fingers if the losses mount, then they will tune him out. It's why coaches get fired. It's easier to find a new coach than find better players.

 

[Phrazbit]

I agree, however, the thing about Gentry, no matter how well he coaches, the players will start pointing fingers if the losses mount, then they will tune him out. It's why coaches get fired. It's easier to find a new coach than find better players.

I'd agree with that, especially considering the apparent leadership void in this roster. Fair or not, I would give Gentry about a 50/50 chance of surviving through April, and given his contract situation I think their is almost no chance he is back next year.

 

[sunsfan88]

About time one of our players called out Gentry. The guy is such a terrible HC for this team, it's mind boggling.

He needs to leave and take the project Beasley with him.

 

[jagu]

I'd agree with that, especially considering the apparent leadership void in this roster. Fair or not, I would give Gentry about a 50/50 chance of surviving through April, and given his contract situation I think their is almost no chance he is back next year.

Why is it Gentry? I don't love his coaching ability but it's not his fault this team is losing.

 

[Mulli]

Can someone explain to me why Gortart is knicknamed the Gazelle?

Thanks.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Can someone explain to me why Gortart is knicknamed the Gazelle?

Thanks.

Because the other centers are all nicknamed the Lion or the Cheetah?

Steve

 

[AfroSuns]

Here goes "The Mallet" again.
As much as i cant stand Scola (i have always disliked the dude) i am all for him being the go to guy with this cast.
Gortat should be the last person to talk about creating shots. Even while he was putting up big numbers with Nash, his inability to take a player one-on-one has always being a concern. He is showing he is a "very good" second option, with potential to be the first, depending on the piece you put around him.
Dude is now showing he has an ego a lot more bigger than his skills. Guess what Marcin, if you put as much passion into putting the ball in the hole as you do when shooting off your mouth, you just might be the "Go to guy".
And this Gentry's fault??? Please, we are going to suck with this bunch. Maybe some of us need to come to that realization. I had hoped some players skills will evolved during the transition.

 

[jbeecham]

Obviously Gortat saying this in the media is a poor way to voice his opinion, but everything he's saying is spot on. He's right about Gentry & Gentry confirmed that with his response to the media (things aren't changing, Gortat needs to change, blah blah blah).

The real issue is simple... Beasley is a black hole & extremely streaky. When he gets a rebound & brings the ball up the court then his teammates just turn to look at the rim and try to rebound his missed shot. Gentry has demanded that Beasley be "The Star" & that's why Gortat is unhappy with AG. Not only because it means that Gortat isn't "The Star", but also because Beasley sucks so badly in that role & doesn't get his teammates involved or make them better in any way. Plus Beasley sucks on defense so it puts even more pressure on the rest of the team.

Maybe Beasley will get better as the season goes along (like Shannon Brown did after he had been here 1/2 a season), but even Brown has been reverting back to his old ways lately.

I took Gortat's comments in the context of him wanting changes that will make the team better and more competitive (not just get him more shots or better stats).

 

[Phrazbit]

Why is it Gentry? I don't love his coaching ability but it's not his fault this team is losing.

I dont think its his fault either. Its a talent problem and I doubt Babby and Banks are going to fire themselves. Gentry's contract expires this year, if the team had any intention of keeping him I think they would have extended him already.

 

[BC867]

What type of coach would replace Gentry?

I dont think its his fault either. Its a talent problem and I doubt Babby and Banks are going to fire themselves. Gentry's contract expires this year, if the team had any intention of keeping him I think they would have extended him already.

If Gentry is toast after this season, what attributes do we think the Suns should look for in the next coach? Assuming that there hasn't been a major overhaul of players.

-- Should it be an NBA coach? Or a college coach? Or an Assistant Coach with no Head Coaching experience?

-- And who would the best candidates be?

-- And is our Front Office capable of choosing a winning identity for the team and its coaching staff?

 

[Phrazbit]

If Gentry is toast after this season, what attributes do we think the Suns should look for in the next coach? Assuming that there hasn't been a major overhaul of players.

-- Should it be an NBA coach? Or a college coach? Or an Assistant Coach with no Head Coaching experience?

-- And who would the best candidates be?

-- And is our Front Office capable of choosing a winning identity for the team and its coaching staff?

My prediction... Dan Majerle, not because he is the most qualified but because the fan base loves him and it will help sell tickets.